Tomintoul whisky – Speyside

Tomintoul distillery information

The Tomintoul distillery was founded in 1964 by Glasgow whisky brokers Hay & Macleod Ltd. and W. & S. String (using the name Tomintoul Distillery Ltd.), in the heart of the Glenlivet area in the Speyside whisky region, on the side of the Balnellan Burn near the village from which it borrows its name; the highest village in the Highlands of Scotland. Production started in 1965. Tomintoul in Gaelic means “The hill of the Barn”, and the whole area was once dotted with illicit distillers, using the secluded hills as cover for their moonshining.

In 1973, the Scottish & Universal Investment Trust purchased both the Tomintoul as well as the Fettercairn distilleries, and in the same year, they also bought Whyte & Mackay. Not long after the acquisition, the first official single malt bottle was released (until then, the spirits produced at Tomintoul were primarily used for blends) in 1974. In the same year, the amount of stills was doubled from two to four. In 1994, ownership of the distillery was transferred to Whyte & Mackay, who were absorbed by American Brands / Jim Beam (JBB) in 1999.

Tomintoul was sold by to Angus Dundee Ltd. (who nowadays also own Glencadam) in 2000. 2002 marked the introduction of a change in branding, starting with a 10 year old, later followed by other expressions (see below).

Tonintoul whisky

All Tomintoul whisky is matured in ex-Bourbon casks made from American white oak.